Ultimaker 3 - Crunchy sounds? Maintenance advice please

[dillydog 1]

We have had our Ultimaker 3 for several years and have followed the maintenance guide as best as possible (lubricating rods and lead screw, checking belt tension, etc).  For the last several months, the printer has become quite noisy and it seems to be a mechanical noise, rather than the stepper or electronic drive noise.  It's hard to figure out if we have missed a lubrication point or something similar? Hoping that someone with more experience can listen/watch the attached zipped video and perhaps notice something familiar as far as the sound and share how we might address?

 

Thank you so much.

-Rob

Ultimaker_Noise.zip

[IRobertI 521]

I'd say it's time to replace the belts. They tend to get a bit squeaky/creaky with age. Sometimes you can get a bit more time without the noise by removing the belts and scrubbing the pulleys clean, but it's just a temporary "fix", the noise will soon return. The belts are pretty cheap though, so I'd go with replacing those, don't forget the short belts as well.

[dillydog 1]

Appreciate the suggestion about the belts. I'm up for replacing them, though the sounds that are being emanated sound more like a squeaky or a metal on plastic sound. It's hard to imagine belts alone making the sound as they do still feel pretty soft and rubbery, not hard in any way.